Sakuu
Sakuu 3D printed patterned battery
Sakuu Corporation has announced that, since December 2022, it has successfully 3D printed fully functional performant batteries in custom shapes and sizes.
The batteries were printed as patterned cells containing patterned openings for thermal management, in a fully dry process, at Sakuu’s battery pilot line facility in Silicon Valley.
According to the company, this marks a ‘first-of-its-kind’ achievement and is an important step towards commercial-scale production at its worldwide gigafactories of next-generation SwiftPrint batteries, including solid-state batteries, on its Kavian platform.
Karl Littau, Chief Technology Officer at Sakuu, said: “Our development shows that the Kavian platform can enable commercial-scale, sustainable production of a wide range of battery technologies from lithium-ion to lithium metal to even solid-state batteries, whereas traditional methods of advanced cell manufacturing continually run into core impediments that prevent mass-scale production.
“Further, our printing process can allow for substantial gains in energy density for a completed battery, whereby the battery itself can become part of product design via customised shapes and sizes. This is a profound moment with enormous implications for advanced battery manufacturing.”
Sakuu says that the printing process of beginning with raw material and ending with a ready-to-use patterned battery creates a new paradigm in manufacturing and energy storage.
Achieving patterned battery printing enables a more effective use of battery cell volume with new pathways in thermal dynamic regulation, according to the company. This allows for integration of fixturing, sensors, and thermal transport pathways, as well as regulation through the patterned design, especially when thin sub-cell battery structures are stacked with identical patterned openings for thermal management in alignment.
Sakuu
Sakuu Kavian platform
“Collectively, our additive manufacturing and battery teams have accomplished what most thought impossible. Printing custom patterned batteries using a dry process that starts with raw material and concludes with a fully functional high-performance battery is a breakthrough that has the potential to transform how batteries of the future are manufactured for all industries,” said Sakuu Founder and CEO Robert Bagheri.
He added: “This milestone advances integration between our Kavian platform and our commercial-scale battery production plans towards an energy output goal of 200GWh by 2030 via a network of global partner gigafactories.”
Arwed Niestroj, Sakuu SVP of Customer Enablement, spoke to TCT in late 2022, and discussed how the company aims to solve electric vehicle battery issues concerning cost, performance, sustainability and range with its batteries.
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